To Rohloff or not to Rohloff?

Woody · Post by **Woody** » 8 Jan 2007, 10:56pm

I'm toying with the idea of a Thorn Raven Tour as my next tourer.
Advantage: Evenly spaced gears in an enclosed hub gear and a non dished rear wheel. I like the list of upgrades and options and especially the 100 day money back guarantee.

Any advice on this bike?

Post by **Mick F** » 8 Jan 2007, 11:08pm

The title of this thread has been used by me months ago!

I liked the idea of a Rohloff, but the 500% difference was too much.

Please see http://www.ctcforum.org.uk/viewtopic.ph ... ht=rohloff

There's a long thread about it all, take a look.

The Raven looks a good bike though!

Mick F. Cornwall

Jac · Post by **Jac** » 9 Jan 2007, 12:25pm

I bought a Thorn Sports tour last april and toured with it through the Ardeche. The Rohloff hub gear is excellent. The evenly spaced gears made hill climbing much easier. You dont have to think - if I change down on the chain ring I need to change up on rear. There is none of that vunerable deraillier stuff to get damaged or clunking and clattering or chains falling off.
The bike quality overall is good. One gripe - the paint is a bit basic and no where near as tough as my Dawes Galaxy.

julk · Post by **julk** » 9 Jan 2007, 7:48pm

I have a Thorn rohloff geared bike and am very pleased with it.
It seems much easier to use your gears than with a derailleur setup and this encourages you to change gear rather than staying in the wrong gear.
A big difference is changing gear whilst stopped!
The Thorn raven tour is suited to heavy loads if this is what you are requiring.
Try one, you have a 100 days to decide if you like it.

D.TEK HPVS · Post by **D.TEK HPVS** » 9 Jan 2007, 10:55pm

Recumbent owners adopted them years ago.
Finally the upwrongs have woken up and discovered them.
I can confirm these gears are bomb-proof !
Will 2007 be the year of the Hub Gear ?

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 10 Jan 2007, 7:40pm

Gordon,Have you got one?if so how do you rate it?

D.TEK HPVS · Post by **D.TEK HPVS** » 10 Jan 2007, 8:11pm

reohn2 wrote:Gordon,Have you got one?if so how do you rate it?

Yes and the Judging panel has awarded marks of 10 10 10 10
All in a nice sealed gearbox casing .The transmission system lasts
at least 25% longer.... no twists turns and all round the houses
for the chain which is the biggest wear factor . Weight ? who cares
when compared to complete D/R system perhaps a few grams more !
Overall cost ........about the same as a quality D/R groupset .
Oh last point .....stop go traffic light racing ..you never get caught out
with opps bl**t ! I'am in the wrong gear ..........Cheers

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 10 Jan 2007, 8:59pm

Gordon England wrote:
reohn2 wrote:Gordon,Have you got one?if so how do you rate it?

Yes and the Judging panel has awarded marks of 10 10 10 10
All in a nice sealed gearbox casing .The transmission system lasts
at least 25% longer.... no twists turns and all round the houses
for the chain which is the biggest wear factor . Weight ? who cares
when compared to complete D/R system perhaps a few grams more !
Overall cost ........about the same as a quality D/R groupset .
Oh last point .....stop go traffic light racing ..you never get caught out
with opps bl**t ! I'am in the wrong gear ..........Cheers

see my post on Rolhoff in "Tearoom" section.I'd like to hear what you think,as an owner/user.

D.TEK HPVS · Post by **D.TEK HPVS** » 10 Jan 2007, 9:22pm

Why do so many people mutter about the price of the RH .
If it lasts longer you save money ..less on overhauls
worn parts ...labour costs you know the rest !
Look what SJSC charge for a complete bike fitted with RH
now cost out the drive train alone and compare with
other drivetrains ....you might pay 17% more for the RH
but it lasts 25% longer ...so the real long term cost is ????
please fill in the missing £££££....makes sense to me ....
Peace of mind ....no dirt or mess ...
Better pass the Swafega to the D/R boys and Girls

Post by **Mick F** » 10 Jan 2007, 11:43pm

Yep. You're right.

Rohloff Rules OK.

but it still costs £650.

it still gives 500% ratios

TOO MUCH FOR ME

see http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t ... ht=rohloff

Mick F. Cornwall

geocycle · Post by **geocycle** » 11 Jan 2007, 10:09am

I have the Thorn Raven Tour. It's probably the best all-round bike I have owned and is used for touring, day rides, commuting, off-road, messing about with the kids etc. It's incredibly stable eg. I felt perfectly safe commuting this morning in 60mph winds loaded with books and a laptop and is very good on forest tracks. It will even take big tyres and suspension forks if you want something more off-road. However, there are faster 'club' bikes out there for light touring if that's what you want.

That said the rohloff is great for my type of riding, I like the 514% MTB style range, after about 1000 miles the noise of 7th gear is no longer a problem (and/or I am used to it), the instant changes when stationary are great for the commute, there is no weight premium, it is absolutely silent in gears 8-14, it's as efficent as most derailleurs and never misses a change. I wish I could have bought one 10 years ago. The cost is steep and although you do save on chains, cassettes etc, it would take a very long time to pay for itself. But, you do save a huge amount of time as maintenance is negligible except for an annual oil change. I've never felt the need to fully clean my chain (other than a dry rag wipe) in 1000 miles of every day use in all weather and all surfaces as you simply don't get the build up of gunge on jockey wheels etc that sticks to the chain and impedes changing. For me this is a hub for life and it will probably out-live the bike even though the raven tour as a steel tourer should go on for a very long time.

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 11 Jan 2007, 11:48am

geocycle wrote:I have the Thorn Raven Tour. It's probably the best all-round bike I have owned and is used for touring, day rides, commuting, off-road, messing about with the kids etc. It's incredibly stable eg. I felt perfectly safe commuting this morning in 60mph winds loaded with books and a laptop and is very good on forest tracks. It will even take big tyres and suspension forks if you want something more off-road. However, there are faster 'club' bikes out there for light touring if that's what you want.

That said the rohloff is great for my type of riding, I like the 514% MTB style range, after about 1000 miles the noise of 7th gear is no longer a problem (and/or I am used to it), the instant changes when stationary are great for the commute, there is no weight premium, it is absolutely silent in gears 8-14, it's as efficent as most derailleurs and never misses a change. I wish I could have bought one 10 years ago. The cost is steep and although you do save on chains, cassettes etc, it would take a very long time to pay for itself. But, you do save a huge amount of time as maintenance is negligible except for an annual oil change. I've never felt the need to fully clean my chain (other than a dry rag wipe) in 1000 miles of every day use in all weather and all surfaces as you simply don't get the build up of gunge on jockey wheels etc that sticks to the chain and impedes changing. For me this is a hub for life and it will probably out-live the bike even though the raven tour as a steel tourer should go on for a very long time.

I can see your well pleased with the bike but do you use the full range of gears?(take a look at my post in the Tea shop for a full explanation of what I'm asking.I would like to discuss this more fully.

geocycle · Post by **geocycle** » 11 Jan 2007, 2:09pm

I understand your point reohn2, but it comes down to how you use your bike and what you are comfortable with. My range is something like 18.1-95.4 gear inches using a 40 tooth chain wheel and 16 sprocket. Most of the time I pedal a 65 inch gear on the 11th direct drive gear and pootle along at 14 mph. But I do use the full range. There are times downhill when a slightly bigger gear would help push me over 30-35mph but at the other extreme on 20% hills fully loaded the 18 inch gear is a great comfort blanket to have in reserve (and has been used a few times especially on steep forest tracks). That said I might change to a 42 tooth chainwheel when the current wears out in order to up the range slightly. For me as a solo, self-contained tourer on all surfaces and all weather commuter, the ease of maintenance and reliability are more important than more narrowly spaced gears, but this will not be the same for everyone, certainly not competitive types and perhaps not even those on Sunday morning club runs. So I do not think rohloff will ever replace derailleurs but they will become more common for a significant section of cyclists.

parish · Post by **parish** » 11 Feb 2007, 5:03pm

I took delivery of my Thorn Raven Sport Tour at the end of November. It is a bit lighter than the Raven Tour, but is essentially similar. I specified drop handlebars with the shiifter on a remote arm away from the bars. It worked but was not ideal, so I have just fitted the special dropped bars from SJSCYCLES which allow the shifter to be placed on the top of the bars. I now have what I believe is the ideal solution. The bars come in three pieces, so take a bit more work to fit and are a bit old fashioned, but as I ride on the tops at least 90% of the time, that doesn't really matter. The bike itself is superb and I am totally sold on the idea of Rohloff gears. The gear range (17" to 91" with 38x16) may seem extreme, but towing a trailer up a steep hill is now a real possibility. The price may be steep, but I think it will prove to be good value.

cpedw · Post by **cpedw** » 12 Feb 2007, 10:04am

Does anyone know if a Rohloff hub would be suitable for a touring tandem? The range sounds good; is it strong enough?
Thanks,
Derek

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To Rohloff or not to Rohloff?

To Rohloff or not to Rohloff?

To Rohloff or not?